Ami Kassar: Know the True Costs of Short-Term Online Loans

You may be getting on a high-interest treadmill that will be very difficult to get off.

By

Ami Kassar

May 14, 2014 2:06 p.m. ET

Short-term, fast online loans have become popular among credit-hungry small-business owners still reeling from the effects of the great recession from late 2007 to mid-2009. Hundreds of companies sell them.

The pitch is simple and alluring: "We will lend you $50,000 and you only have to pay back $60,000 -- and you can have the money in a day or two."